Mayor: Town was hit by Russian rip-off
EPHRATA, Pa. (AP) — Officials in one central Pennsylvania town say they’re the victims of a Russian rip-off.
Ephrata Mayor Ralph Mowen says hackers apparently from Russia accessed the borough’s general fund and routed about $80,000 out of the country by way of a bank in the Midwest.
Mowen says the disappearing money was discovered last month during normal bookkeeping. The borough contacted Ephrata National Bank, which was able to recover about $20,000 of the $100,000 that had been transferred.
The mayor says the borough’s insurance company will cover the loss. A consultant was hired to check out the borough’s computer system.